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EDITORIAL: Four Corners should expand tourism push

The Editorial Board

Updated:
06/11/2012 06:16:02 PM MDT

The Four Corners is blessed with a wide variety of gifts from the land around us that provides natural resources such as oil, natural gas and coal, but there is another homegrown industry besides those energy-related that we should tap more than what we do: tourism.

Getting the word out about the unique offerings of the Four Corners landscape and its ancient culture, along with our more modern entertainment options such as the Connie Mack World Series and miles of recreational trails, is worth the investment we already make and probably worth much more.

Dollars spent here by visitors helps in many ways and, rightly so, it should be a never-ending target for local economic growth.

The Farmington Convention & Visitors Bureau board of directors and staff is having its annual meeting on Thursday, and included will be a presentation about how a business can integrate social media into an overall marketing plan.

Sounds like a good gameplan for tourism, and no doubt it will be one explored by local entities interested in the idea.

Thinking in new terms and exploring modern avenues for selling guests on visiting the Four Corners can be combined with old-fashioned advertising and marketing to lure visitors from around the world, and there is much to explore here for those with a knack for the outdoors or an appetite for history.

A great example that we should celebrate, as we have and still do, is the advent of geotourism such as that recently debuting in Aztec.

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National Geographic is encouraging people to visit the Four Corners via its new Four Corners Region Trail of the Ancients destination map and website.

The Four Corners region is one of nine places in America chosen for a map and website series, which highlights archeologic and geologic resources. About 100 points of interest throughout the region are described on the map and about 800 destinations are included on the website.

High-profile attention and endorsement from a respectable organization such as National Geographic is no small thing. Its highly acclaimed publications and electronic offerings such as its cable television stations and websites reach audiences around the world and no doubt will increase global attention on the Four Corners to those who fancy travel and adventure.

We welcome them with open arms, and open pockets. Tourism is good for our economy, and it also provides us an opportunity to be good ambassadors.

We should embrace the challenge to do more and engage in the opportunity with full swagger. The payoffs are worth it.